The Sample Analysis at Mars Investigation and Instrument Suite

TLDR

SAM investigates the chemical and isotopic composition of Mars’ atmosphere and volatiles extracted from solid samples. Its goal is to quantitatively assess Mars’ habitability, advancing the search for past or present life. The 40‑kg suite on Curiosity combines a quadrupole mass spectrometer, tunable laser spectrometer, and six‑column gas chromatograph, linked by solid‑ and gas‑processing systems to measure light isotopes, volatiles from the atmosphere or thermally released solids, and to search for organics via thermal or chemical extraction.

Abstract

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) addresses the chemical and isotopic composition of the atmosphere and volatiles extracted from solid samples. The SAM investigation is designed to contribute substantially to the mission goal of quantitatively assessing the habitability of Mars as an essential step in the search for past or present life on Mars. SAM is a 40 kg instrument suite located in the interior of MSL's Curiosity rover. The SAM instruments are a quadrupole mass spectrometer, a tunable laser spectrometer, and a 6-column gas chromatograph all coupled through solid and gas processing systems to provide complementary information on the same samples. The SAM suite is able to measure a suite of light isotopes and to analyze volatiles directly from the atmosphere or thermally released from solid samples. In addition to measurements of simple inorganic compounds and noble gases SAM will conduct a sensitive search for organic compounds with either thermal or chemical extraction from sieved samples delivered by the sample processing system on the Curiosity rover's robotic arm.